The present invention relates particularly to a graphics imaging system for producing visual designs and more particularly to a graphics imaging system that presents a display of one or more regions each containing a graphical object, for example a bitmapped image.
Computer systems are commonly used to process digital imagery, such as that captured by digital cameras and scanners, into new forms. The processing may include selecting and positioning a subset of an image within a surrounding region or frame. This process is sometimes called “cropping” in existing art.
A simplistic approach to cropping can be compared to cutting the edges off a photograph with a pair of scissors: as the user cuts more material away, the size of the photograph is reduced. In our abstracted implementation, the overall dimensions of the region holding the displayed image remain constant, while the visible subset of the image being cropped appears to grow or shrink within the confines of that fixed region. The user interactively indicates a region of interest, and that region is stretched to fit the fixed bounding region.
In prior art, maintaining the exterior dimensions of a bounding region while cropping the interior can be a cumbersome task. For example, in common graphics editing applications such as Adobe® PhotoShop or JASC® Paint Shop Pro, cropping an image results in a smaller overall image, as with a pair of scissors; the user must resize the cropped result back to the original size manually.
Microsoft® Word provides an example of a cumbersome mechanism for cropping against a fixed containing region: the user creates a frame within a document, enters a second, new document representing the contents of that frame, positions graphics and text within the second document, and then manipulates controls on the ‘ruler’ inside that second document that indicate the extent of the second document that will be visible within the frame in the first, or referring, document. Unfortunately, the user cannot see the cropped view of the second document in the context of the first while editing the cropping; in particular, the user cannot directly manipulate the cropping of the second document while editing the first document.
The current patent provides an elegant mechanism for the graceful manipulation of the cropping of the second document while editing the first document. This technique is particularly useful when editing visual data, such as photographs which have ‘areas of interest’ that the user cares to distinguish; however it is generally applicable to the process of cropping an extent of any two- or three-dimensional data.
The present invention provides for an interaction technique, implementable on a computer readable medium, for interactively specifying a subset of a graphical object for display within a containing region. We use the term ‘region’ to indicate a bounded area on a computer display which can be used to contain a two-dimensional entity, including by way of example a bitmapped raster image. We use the term “cropping”, or “crop-to-fill mode”, to mean the selection of said subset of said contained image; the user perceives the net result of changing the region defined on the contained image as a cropping of said image within the extent of said containing region.
In one aspect of the invention, the user enters crop-to-fill mode, interactively selects a particular subset of an image contained within a fixed bounding region, and then leaves the crop-to-fill mode.
In another aspect of the invention, the cropping is performed by direct manipulation of a control drawn on the border of said initial region with a user interface device such as a mouse or keyboard.
In another aspect of the invention, the cropping is computed using the updated position of a pointing device such as a mouse relative to the position at the start of interaction. A keyboard may also be used. The cropping enables the user to interactively select a two-dimensional subset of a contained image which will completely fill a containing region, said containing region remaining of fixed width and height throughout the operation.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the FIGURES, by way of example, with like numerals being used to refer to like and corresponding parts of the various drawings.
In the following discussion, the present invention is described for illustrative purposes with reference to the editing of raster image information. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention, in its broadest aspect, is applicable to applications other than image applications, and it is not intended that the scope of the invention be so limited. For example, the present invention is also applicable to the editing of video data, and to two-dimensional data in general. Three-dimensional data can likewise be cropped by manipulating the source extent of a three-dimensional cube of data from within a bounding volume.
Computer Imaging System
A computer graphics imaging system 1 is schematically depicted in
The computer 2 executes imaging software described below to allow the system 1 to render high quality graphics images on the monitor 12. The CPU 3 comprises a suitable processing device such as a microprocessor, for example, and may comprise a plurality of suitable processing devices. The graphics adaptor 9 may also be capable of executing instructions. Instructions are stored in one or more of the CPU local memory 3a, static memory 4, main memory 5, mass memory 6, and/or display adapter local memory 9a and are executed by the CPU 3 or the display adapter 9.
The static memory 4 may comprise read only memory (ROM) or any other suitable memory device. The local memory may store, for example, a boot program for execution by CPU 3 to initialize the graphics imaging system 1. The main memory 5 may comprise random access memory (RAM) or any other suitable memory device. The mass memory 6 may include a hard disk device, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a flash memory device, a CDROM, a file server device or any other suitable memory device. For this detailed description, the term memory comprises a single memory device and any combination of suitable devices for the storage of data and instructions.
The system bus 7 provides for the transfer of digital information between the hardware devices of the graphics imaging system 1. The CPU 3 also receives data over the system bus 7 that is input by a user through alphanumeric input device 10 and/or the pointer device 11 via an input adaptor 8. The alphanumeric input device 10 may comprise a keyboard, for example, that comprises alphanumeric keys. The alphanumeric input device 10 may comprise other suitable keys such as function keys for example. The pointer device 11 may comprise a mouse, track-ball, tablet and/or joystick, for example, for controlling the movement of a cursor displayed on the computer display 12.
The graphics imaging system 1 of
The display 12 may comprise a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display particularly suited for displaying graphics on its viewing screen. The invention can be implemented using high-speed graphics workstations as well as personal computers having one or more high-speed processors.
The graphics imaging system 1 utilizes specialized graphics software implementing the method described in the present invention. The software implements a user interface and related processing algorithms as described in subsequent sections to enable the user to produce graphical works viewed on the display 12 and which may be stored in mass memory 6, for example the assembly of graphical objects such as bitmaps. Source material for use with such a system can include previously digitized materials stored on a computer memory 6 such as images acquired from digital cameras, scanning devices, or the internet, which may be stored on a large capacity hard or fixed disk storage device.
Regions
In the preferred embodiment of this invention, a graphical composition incorporates one or more graphical objects within bounding regions. As shown in
As shown in
Rotating the region 21 (see
Resizing the region 21 (see
Deleting the region 21 (see
Panning the image 31 contained within the region 21 (see
Cropping the image 31 contained within the region 21 (see
Image Cropping-To-Fill
The present invention specifically relates to the selection of a subset of a contained region within a bounding frame.
Interactively resizing a bounding frame using controls built into the frame of said frame is a common operation well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art. However the interactive selection of a subset of a contained graphical object such as a bitmap without deforming the frame defining the containing region is to our knowledge unique to this invention.
Referring to
Said handle may appear anywhere in or about said region 21; in the preferred embodiment of the invention they appear near each of the four corners of the region 21.
Alternative Handle Layouts
With reference to
RegionWidth/RegionHeight=SubsetWidth/SubsetHeight
Therefore the minimum information required to determine said subset 32b is the location of a corner (one of P1, P2, P3, P4) and either a width or height of said desired subset 32b. For example, once the height of the subset 32b is specified, say by P1 and P4, then the width must be equal to
(RegionWidth * SubsetHeight)/RegionHeight
For this reason it is sufficient to display only two handles to provide the user with the ability to choose any arbitrary subset of said contained image 32a.
In the preferred embodiment of this invention all four handles are displayed to enable the user to adjust each corner independently, which in our experience aids in framing objects of interest.
Crop-To-Fill Using a Mouse Input Device
In one embodiment of this invention, the user crops the contained graphical object by manipulating an input device such as a mouse. It may be helpful to think of the interaction in the following terms, as illustrated in
The source image 32a is cropped by the frame defining the surrounding region 21.
The aspect ratio of the surrounding frame 21 is fixed.
The subset of the source image 32a which appears in the surrounding frame 21 can be selected by a region 32b that must have an aspect ratio matching that of the surrounding frame 21 but which can otherwise grow or shrink or translate on the source image 32a without restriction
The projection 32b of the surrounding frame 21 on the source image thus produces four points P1-P4 on the source image 32a defining the subset of the image that fills the surrounding frame 21.
Moving the crop handles 33 can therefore be thought of as a function that indirectly relocates these four points P1-P4.
The actual movement of the handles may involve additional constraints, described below.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in
1. Moving the mouse such that the pointer 40 is positioned over a crop handle 33
Without loss of generality and for illustrative purposes only, suppose that the user has selected the Top-Left handle, as shown in
The handle 33 may assume a new visual state, such as a brightened or highlighted representation, to indicate that it will become active if the user presses the mouse button.
2. Pressing the mouse button
The handle 33 and other decoration on the frame 21 may disappear to allow the user to concentrate on the image itself.
3. Dragging the mouse in a chosen direction
The user selects a direction based on the situation.
As the user drags, the display of the region 21 updates to reflect the subset of the source image 31 the user is currently specifying.
The algorithm for calculating the extent of the subset is discussed below.
4. Releasing the mouse button
The handle 33 and all other decoration on the frame may reappear if they were hidden in step 2.
In step 3 above, the subset of the source image is calculated by determining the distance from the current pointer position to the position at the time of the button press in step 2. Note that the region may be rotated by the user prior to the use of the crop-to-fill mode; in this case the interpretation of the pointer position must take this rotation into account.
A sample implementation of this technique is as follows:
Crop-To-Fill Mode
Once the mouse button was pressed while the cursor 40 was over the crop handle 33 in step 2 of the previous section, and until the mouse button was released in the subsequent step 4, the graphics system was in “crop-to-fill mode”.
In another embodiment of this invention, the user has other means for entering and leaving this mode for a given selected region(s), such as via the use of a keyboard:
1. Pressing and releasing a key (such as ‘c’) to enter crop-to-fill mode (applying the cropping using any technique described here)
2. Subsequently pressing a key (such as ‘enter’, or ‘c’ again) to accept the crop and exit the mode or
1. Pressing and holding a key (such as ‘c’) to enter frame segmentation mode (applying the segmentation using any technique described here)
2. Subsequently releasing said key to accept the crop and exit the mode
Aborting Cropping
In another embodiment of this invention, the user is able to abort the cropping operation while in Crop-To-Fill Mode. This is accomplished by pressing a key, such as the ‘esc’ key. This removes any previewed cropping, refreshes the display to include the handles decorating the regions again if necessary, and exits Crop-To-Fill Mode.
Modifications and Alternate Embodiments
Having described the invention, it should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the foregoing is illustrative and not limiting. Numerous modifications, variations and alterations may be made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention by one of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The present invention shares the same inventors and assignee as, and is related to, the following applications: Docket number pp-01-01-2003, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTING MULTIPLE DRAGGED OBJECTS”, as well as Docket number pp-03-01-2003, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INTERACTIVE REGION SEGMENTATION”, in that the methods of object distribution and region segmentation described therein may optionally be combined with the user interface elements described herein. The present application formalizes the provision utility patent application with application Ser. No. 60-446,757 and confirmation number 4658, filed on Feb. 3, 2003.